Chapter 397: Rushed Battle

When they finally woke up—bodies tangled together in the aftermath of their passionate marathon—they shared a simple meal together in comfortable silence punctuated by warm glances and soft touches.

During the meal, Leon casually checked Seraphine’s status information through his system interface, genuinely curious about her progress.

His eyes widened slightly with pleasant surprise.

She had successfully reached Ascendant rank, just as he’d hoped. However, her level was actually higher than his current standing—she was perched right at the edge of reaching Sage rank already, and seeing the new technique and new skill in her status.

She’s been working incredibly hard. Pushing herself relentlessly.

He felt deeply satisfied seeing her progressing so well, her dedication to strength paying tangible dividends.

After they finished eating and cleaning up together, Leon sent Seraphine back to her training area with a lingering kiss and a promise to visit again soon.

Then he returned immediately to his own brutal training regimen.

It felt somewhat repetitive—the same grueling cycle again and again—but this was simply the most efficient way to achieve rapid growth.

Knowing she’s also working this hard makes it easier to push myself.

Leon resumed the same intensive process he’d established.

Around one hour and several minutes in the outside world translated to another fifty subjective years for him inside the accelerated training space, utilizing the Tome of Eternal Practice repeatedly and pushing his mental limits.

Then he called Seraphine back and spent a couple of steamy, passionate days with her—which she clearly enjoyed immensely, her enthusiasm never waning. The intimate breaks relaxed him profoundly as well, clearing his overtaxed mind.

After their time together concluded, the same process continued in its established rhythm.

Training. Breakthrough. Call Seraphine. Intimacy and connection. Send her back. More training.

The cycle repeated methodically.

Until finally, Leon recognized it was time to return to the Pyrrhan realm—nearly twenty-four hours had passed in the outside world since he’d last been present.

Can’t stay away too long. The next rift attack should happen soon.

He opened the dimensional portal and stepped through, his consciousness smoothly transitioning back into his physical body that had been waiting in the Pyrrhan world.

The portal shimmered closed behind him.

"Oh shit!"

Leon immediately detected the ongoing battle happening in the distance through his enhanced spatial awareness—the violent clash of energies, the screams, the explosions.

Fuck! I should have anticipated that every rift would manifest at roughly the same consistent time!

Without a single second of hesitation or delay, Leon rapidly created his clone through Hydra’s Division skill. The duplicate formed beside him instantly, sharing his consciousness.

He materialized armor from his inventory for both bodies—red-colored protective plating with intricate fire runes etched across the surface. The enchantment enhanced fire elemental attacks significantly.

This will synergize well with my abilities, and more than that, I can’t be fighting naked.

The clone immediately rushed at full speed toward the distant ongoing battle following Leon’s mental command, its form blurring with velocity.

Meanwhile, Leon released his Holy energy completely—no longer suppressing or restraining it.

The golden-white divine power formed densely around his primary body, far more controlled and refined than ever before, thanks to his intensive training.

The atmosphere around him began trembling violently from the sheer pressure. The ground beneath his feet cracked and caved inward, creating a crater. Space itself was visibly distorted and warped just from his overwhelming strength alone.

This power... It’s incredible.

Leon moved at full acceleration—and he surpassed the already lightning-fast silhouette of his clone in mere milliseconds, leaving it far behind.

His enhanced eyes scanned the battlefield below as he approached.

He noticed Archon Vyrra struggling intensely—not just her, but all the other warriors looked completely on the edge of exhaustion and defeat. He could see many Pyrrhan soldiers with serious, life-threatening injuries scattered across the arena.

The situation is dire. Critical.

The reason became immediately clear as Leon focused on Archon Vyrra’s specific combat.

She was currently fighting two separate monsters simultaneously—both attacking her in coordinated tandem.

Leon activated his system scanning ability to check their status information.

Both creatures registered as Archon-ranked beasts.

Holy shit. Two Archon-rank monsters at once? That’s wild, and she’s still holding them back.

No wonder the situation had deteriorated so drastically.

Leon’s epic-ranked sword materialized in his hand with a thought, the familiar weight comforting.

His Level 3 Holy Aura blazed around the weapon with tremendous intensity—the blade now appearing almost like living divine energy, given the shape of a sword, glowing so brilliantly it was nearly blinding to look at directly.

The intricate symbols etched along the sword’s surface had multiplied and deepened compared to before, now covering nearly half the blade’s total length with glowing runes.

The sword is evolving alongside my mastery.

Archon Vyrra had detected his powerful presence arriving. She released a visible sigh of profound relief despite her dire circumstances.

Finally. Reinforcement.

This was genuinely the first time two Archon-ranked monsters had emerged from a single rift simultaneously, and they were actively working together with coordinated tactics rather than fighting as independent beasts.

Intelligent cooperation. That’s dangerous.

Leon engaged immediately with one of the monsters—specifically choosing the three-headed massive wolf wreathed in terrifying black flames that clung to its fur like liquid shadow.

The other creature was some kind of humanoid beast—vaguely resembling a corrupted ape or troll, standing upright with crude intelligence visible in its eyes.

Leon deliberately selected the wolf as his target because it had been attacking Archon Vyrra from her blind spot while maintaining careful distance, utilizing hit-and-run pack tactics in coordination with its partner.

However, Leon was genuinely interested in both creatures for entirely different reasons.

The loot from two Archon-rank cores... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

He’d chosen the wolf specifically because its unique black fire interested him far more than the humanoid’s brute strength approach.

That flame is special. Different from a normal fire. I want to study it.

The wolf noticed Leon’s approach and immediately launched a concentrated beam of black fire directly at him—the flames seeming to devour light itself as they traveled.

Leon blocked the incoming attack by rapidly forming a shield constructed entirely from condensed Holy energy, manifesting it just in time.

The holy barrier held successfully, the divine power resisting the corruption. However, the black fire still clung stubbornly to the shield’s surface despite being unable to penetrate through to damage him.

Interesting property. It’s actively trying to expand and consume the holy energy.

The dark flames spread gradually across his barrier like a living infection, eating away at the edges.

Leon found himself even more fascinated and interested by this particular fire’s unique characteristics.

Definitely want to acquire this ability somehow.

However, he didn’t have sufficient time to remain stationary and analyze further—he needed to change position and go on the offensive immediately.

Multiple spears constructed from pure Holy energy materialized around Leon, along with various other elemental projectiles—ice shards, lightning bolts, compressed air blades—all hovering in formation.

Simultaneously, Leon formed complete armor made entirely of Holy energy around his body, encasing himself in divine protection.

The armor appeared incredibly well-crafted and sophisticated—far superior to his earlier attempts. Intricate overlapping plates covered every vital area, and his Level 3 Holy Aura integrated seamlessly into the construct, reinforcing it tremendously.

My control has improved exponentially.

His glowing sword cleaved directly through the ongoing stream of black fire, splitting the attack cleanly in two as he accelerated closer to the beast.

The three-headed wolf was stepping backward through the air, creating platforms made entirely out of black fire beneath its paws—using the flames as solid footing.

Clever. Environmental control.

Leon closed the distance rapidly, his projectiles launching in coordinated waves while his sword drew back for a devastating strike.